10 Myths About Dyslexia and Reading Debunked

In recent years, a lot of effort has been made toward raising awareness for learning difficulties and disorders, which severely affect the lives of children in school and beyond. While there’s considerable progress done on the matter, unfortunately, misconceptions and plain wrong notions about these sensitive issues seem to stick around and circle the internet. If we were to ask “what do you know about dyslexia?”, chances are that at least one or two of those beliefs are based on myths about dyslexia. 

But, don’t worry, we won’t leave you wondering! In this article, we’ll examine all the popular claims regarding dyslexia and see what is the actual stance of the scientific community. Is there sufficient evidence to support the claims we’ll mention further down or should we, as teachers and parents, be more reserved when looking for effective teaching practices that benefit kids with dyslexia?

Why dyslexia? Well, out of all the learning disorders, dyslexia is the most prevalent, with as much as 10% to 20% prevalence rate among school-age children, according to different sources. 

These numbers paint a grim picture and imply that all teachers at some point in their career have had experience with at least one, but probably more, dyslexic children in their classroom. This makes it absolutely essential for all of us to try and understand this condition better. To achieve this, today, we’ll be debunking myths about dyslexia. 

Debunking Common Myths About Dyslexia

There are a lot of people who don’t know the very basics of children’s development, let alone the specifics on the epidemiology of dyslexia. This is why the most common misconceptions revolve around the causes, symptoms, prognosis, and treatment.  

Myth #1: Children Can Overcome Dyslexia By Simply Trying Harder

Starting out with probably one of the cruelest myths about dyslexia, leading to many prejudgements and unfair treatment of children with dyslexia is the unfounded belief that this “difficulty” is a result of not trying enough. 

Here are the facts. Dyslexia is an actual learning disorder that affects the language system, and more specifically the phonological processing system in the brain. Evidence from fMRI studies has shown that people with dyslexia have posterior neural systems in the left hemisphere of the brain. The authors of the paper themselves claim that this convincing, irrefutable finding puts to bed the skepticism whether dyslexia is a “real” disorder. 

What does this mean? Well, all of us have the ability to read and write and communicate thanks to the mind-blowingly large networks of neurons and their specific connections within certain brain regions. In the left hemisphere of the brain, there’s a brain region called Wernicke area and is considered to be responsible for speech comprehension (but not speech production). Now, imagine that in this massively interconnected brain region, something doesn’t work in the usual way (like the majority). Normally, this is going to produce some changes in our cognitive functioning and behavior, as dyslexia does. 

These changes are probably due to genetic reasons, but let’s leave that aside from now. The main takeaway message from this is that although there are great individual differences among us, some people process things differently due to biologically different mechanisms inside the brain, and this is okay! Working harder on the same assignments as other kids, won’t make a difference in the same way as making a short child jump higher than the others won’t make them taller. 

Myth #2: Children Will Grow Out of It

This myth is more or less a continuation of the previous one, so let’s just expand our argument. We’ve laid out the evidence showing that children with dyslexia have actual disturbances of the activity of certain brain regions. The mere fact that there’s a biological reason behind the condition, you can’t expect to “go away on its own” as the child grows, unless it’s considered part of the development. Dyslexia is not a process of normal brain development. 

So, what does dyslexia result from? The only completely unbiased, yet accurate statement would be  “We don’t know!” However, that’s not really satisfying, which is why we’ll put forward a promising hypothesis made in the 1980s by Normal Geshwind and Albert Galaburda of the Harvard Medical School. 

They proposed that dyslexia might be a result of microscopic changes in brain physiology that can’t be detected by typical neuroimaging studies because they’re still not advanced enough. According to Geschwind and Galaburda, during prenatal brain development, some brain cells end up in the wrong place. This prevents them from maturing and making connections, existing isolated in a non-functional form (ectopic cells). 

Seeing how more recently developed fMRI techniques revealed reduced activations (hypoactivations) in several brain regions in dyslexic readers versus typical readers, Geschwind and Galaburda’s theory seems more probable than ever. 

Nevertheless, don’t forget that this is just a theory and although reasonable, scientists still haven’t figured out the direct causes of dyslexia. 

Myth #3: Dyslexia Can Be Cured

Let’s finish the circle and close the discussion on the myths related to the epidemiology of dyslexia by helping teachers and parents set more realistic expectations regarding the treatment of dyslexia. 

Asking whether dyslexia can be “cured” is actually a very reasonable question, but the answer is in contrast to popular belief, unfortunately. Dyslexia can’t be cured, at least not for now. 

First of all, the word “cure” is problematic here, because dyslexia is not considered a disease – the things for which we look for a cure. While the concept of disease is described as a pathophysiological response to internal or external factors, disorders (such as dyslexia) are considered simply a disruption of a regular function (physical or neurological).  The implications arising from this distinction are that in the case of dyslexia we can only look for therapies to restore the normal functioning of specific brain regions. 

Second, we already mentioned that considering the limitations of contemporary neuroscientific techniques, scientists struggle to pinpoint the causes of dyslexia which can lead to a more systematic therapy. But, for now, the “behavioral remediation” program is the most promising solution. 

According to a study by Merzenich published in PNAS in 2003, “behavioral remediation” was effective in increasing the activity in the affected brain regions, which led to improved reading and phonological processing in kids between 8 and 12 years old. 

Maybe in the near future, we’ll have a better understanding of this condition and better practices that can increase the functionality and quality-of-life of people with dyslexia. 

Myth #4: Dyslexia Develops In Elementary School

Most children with dyslexia get diagnosed once they start with formal education because they struggle to follow the fast-paced dynamics of a typical classroom and the mainstream curriculum that’s not optimized for kids with learning disabilities. Nonetheless, a failure in identifying and diagnosing the condition earlier doesn’t mean that the child didn’t have it. 

People don’t learn nor develop dyslexia throughout life, but they’re born like that. However, due to the lack of awareness and varying severity, some people never realize they’re dyslexic or realize it in their adulthood. How’s that possible? Well, it’s not uncommon for children who are told they’re “bad” readers to accept that as part of their identity and believe they’re simply unskilled readers. 

Today, studies show that deficits in phonological awareness and verbal working memory (considered precursors of dyslexia) are seen in children as young as age three. Please, take your child for screening if you suspect they might struggle with dyslexia. 

Myth #5: Reading or Writing Backwards is a Key Indicator of Dyslexia

This might be the most wide-spread myth about dyslexia. If a child reads backward or reverses the order of words or letters, they probably have dyslexia, right? Wrong! 

For this myth, we actually have the science to blame, as it was neuropathologist Samuel Orton who coined the term strephosymbolia, meaning “twisted symbols,” in the 1920s. He observed children who had reading difficulties and noticed that some of them read words from right to left, a phenomenon he thought was the primary symptom of reading difficulties. 

Unfortunately, terms like these are pervasive which allows them to stick around for a long time after they’ve been proven wrong. Samuel Orton made the mistake to associate reading backward with reading difficulties, especially as the main symptom. This phenomenon of “twisting the symbols” is not unique to children with dyslexia. Most children reverse the letters, read backward, or mistake similar letters when they first start to read. It’s a normal and expected part of the learning process. 

Myth #6: Children With Dyslexia Have Vision Problems

By now you should have a better idea of what dyslexia is biologically speaking. So far, most of the evidence we have points out to dyslexia being a brain disorder, manifesting as hypoactivity (reduced activity) in specific brain regions important for the language system. 

Does this include the eyes? No. The visual system is separate and independent from the language system in our brain. This means that people with visual impairments have no trouble reading braille (their language abilities are intact), and vice versa. People with many different language disorders have no problem seeing the words or anything else for that matter. 

Now, of course, things are never this simple. While most kids with dyslexia have normal and healthy eyes (vision is intact), sometimes dyslexia can be a part of a more severe disability which also includes the visual system. It can also be present in combination with other disabilities.  

Comorbidities are more or less a common sight for most disorders. Dyslexia is not an exception, but it’s rare in a typical diagnosis, so there’s no reason why you should expect or think that a child with dyslexia has to have vision problems. 

Myth #7: Dyslexia Is Associated With Intelligence (Gifted vs. Intellectual Disability)

These two myths about dyslexia are two sides of the same coin, and they deal with misconceptions regarding one question “Is dyslexia associated with intelligence?” 

The short answer is, no! Dyslexia does not affect intellectual abilities in any way. However, psychological and sociological factors can impact the life of dyslexic children in both directions, which people might wrongly interpret as above or below average intelligence. How?

On one hand, children struggling with dyslexia might be diagnosed very late, the education system they’re in might not provide the support they need, or the discrimination and prejudices from the environment can deteriorate their mental and physical health. All these factors negatively affect the children’s cognitive and emotional development, which leads to poor academic achievement. This doesn’t mean dyslexic kids don’t have the intellectual abilities as other kids, it’s just that they’re immersed in a society that still poorly handles diversity. 

On the other hand, our expectations of dyslexic children can bias the way we interpret their achievements. Some children with dyslexia growing up in optimal conditions and an adapted educational system can learn how to accept their uniqueness and function normally. “Wow, they’re dyslexic, but can still read so well. They must be gifted!” is the most common conclusion of people, as they expect all kids with dyslexia to have problems reading or learning. It’s actually the environment that makes most of the difference, although, there are always individual differences.

Having said that, let’s just remind you that in some rare cases, children with dyslexia can actually have comorbidities with other disabilities, resulting in cognitive deficits. Of course, the other way around is also true, dyslexic children can have exceptionally high intellectual abilities, just like any other kid might have – is just that dyslexia itself has nothing to do with that! 

Myth #8: Dyslexia Is Associated With English

Another discrimination and cultural bias that dyslexia is an English-speaking disorder. Maybe this is due to the fact that in our culture, English is the dominant language, but regardless, it’s not true! 

Dyslexia is found in speakers of every language and country. The only difference is that the rates vary. Maybe the varying rates are due to differences in orthography, or whether or not the language system uses an alphabetical system. Science still doesn’t have an answer to this. 

In any case, dyslexia is prevalent in languages that use irregular (ex, English, French) and regular orthography (Italian), alphabetical system, as well as logographic writing system (Chinese characters). Here are stats about the prevalence in different languages: 

1. Mandarian (2020): 5.4% children with dyslexia. (logographic writing system).
2. Spanish (2012): 3 to 6% children with dyslexia. (alphabetical writing system, regular orthography).
3. English (2020): 5 to 10% children with dyslexia (alphabetical writing system, irregular orthography).

Keep in mind that these statistics are not standardized and can’t easily explain the differences between different countries nor languages. The screening tests for dyslexia are different in different countries and the awareness of this condition is also very different around the world. However, the fact that’s been documented all around the world, is more than proof to debunk this myth about dyslexia. 

Myth #9: Dyslexia Impairs Future Success 

We touched upon this when we explained that dyslexia doesn’t affect intellectual abilities, although it might seem that way to us because of our expectations. The same goes for this myth! People with dyslexia can learn to function in society just like anyone else and have bright futures ahead of them. There’s one condition, though. We have to believe in them and do our best to provide the optimal conditions, so they can develop the necessary skills to overcome their difficulties in reading and learning. 

We shouldn’t exclude them from the educational system, nor society, as with only little adjustments we can make the classroom (or any other professional and educational institution) a positive and stimulating place for diversity, including dyslexia, among other learning difficulties. Read our article “The Parent’s Guide to Teaching Kids About Cultural Diversity and Inclusion” that can help you prepare your child to be more self-accepting, self-respecting, and to believe that they can achieve everything they dream of! 

Myth #10: Symptoms of Dyslexia Can Be Improved Through Meditation, Exercise, and Eating Healthy!

While all the above-mentioned practices are super healthy, some of which are even necessary for a child’s optimal development, they do not affect the intensity of the dyslexic symptoms. We would still recommend every parent and teacher to implement physical activity and healthy eating habits in all children! Just, please don’t do it expecting it will result in improved dyslexia symptoms. 

If we stretch the argument a bit, we might say that discipline and healthy habits improve dyslexic symptoms indirectly by lowering stress levels. But, as we said, it’s a bit of a stretch, and we would still insist on managing the expectations, following a professionals’ advice, and being an emotional support for the child no matter what – factors which can actually make a difference. 

Before You Leave 

Hopefully, things are more clear now. Some of the myths about dyslexia are painfully tenacious even if they leave no doubt over their fictitious nature. For those cases, you now have strong arguments against them and you can spread awareness about dyslexia that can actually benefit children. 

On the other hand, some of the myths are not far away from the truth. Nonetheless, considering the complex nature of this condition, simplifying the matter with extreme generalization can actually harm children with dyslexia even more by simply putting them in a disadvantaged situation. 

Where to go from here? As a teacher or a parent who wants to keep learning, we recommend reading our article “How positive learning experiences can help children beat their dyslexia” or the “Dysgraphia in children – what parents need to know (and how not to worry),” which informs on a very similar and commonly seen condition. 

But, don’t stop there! Visit our blog and immerse yourself in our large collection of informative articles and children’s education guides adapted for teachers and homeschooling parents.
Additionally, check out our main website and choose a worksheet bundle, a lesson plan, or a curriculum on any of your upcoming units to make your classes more fun and meaningful.